Recapping Nebraska's Recruiting Weekend

The Nebraska Cornhuskers had the biggest recruiting weekend so far in the Mike Riley era as they hosted a top-10 opponent, Wisconsin. Every commit for the 2018 class except 4-star cornerback Mario Goodrich‍ was able to make it to town for the game. Nebraska had a slew of big-time talent on the sidelines led by 5-star outside linebacker/defensive end Micah Parsons‍. Parsons and his parents were not scheduled to leave until Monday morning, so a little extra time winning over the family couldn’t hurt.

Other notable guys on campus this weekend included 4-star wide receiver Tommy Bush‍. The tall (6-5, 187) but the speedy wideout really enjoyed his trip and he told me that Nebraska is a “top priority” right now for him.

Also on campus was a pair of IMG teammates who are currently committed elsewhere. Four-star running back TJ Pledger‍ is currently an Oklahoma commit and has been to campus a few times. It was actually his second trip to Lincoln since June and his mother was able to make both trips. The pitch to flip Pledger remains consistent: you can play early and often here, and you’ll play with friends. A California native, he is close with Tyjon Lindsey and Brendan Radley-Hiles‍ and is also familiar with many of Nebraska’s California recruits.

The other committed IMG player was Miami commit Brian Hightower‍. The big-bodied wideout reminds me a lot of Stanley Morgan Jr and would give Nebraska’s receiving room some much needed size. The Huskers were the first to offer Hightower back in 2015 and he has also been to campus before. I note when kids have been to campus multiple times because often that’s a good indicator of real interest instead of just taking trips to see new places. It will be tough to move Hightower off his Miami pledge but Nebraska feels they have a strong relationship with him and a good pitch.

One of the things that Parsons, Bush, Pledger and Hightower all have in common besides being highly rated is that they are all true game breakers at their respective position. One of the things that is evident watching Nebraska football is that they have a lot of solid players, but not enough players that keep opposing coaches and coordinators up at night having to game plan for them.

Husker fans won’t want to miss the story of 3-star defensive end Tate Wildeman‍’s journey to check out the Nebraska-Wisconsin game. He’s a heck of a football player as well.

On Sunday night, Nebraska extended an offer to 2018 Penn High School safety Paul Moala‍ out of Mishawaka, Indiana. The hard-hitting safety (6-0, 200) is a 3-star with offers from Notre Dame, Iowa, Utah State, Vanderbilt and others. Keep an eye out if Nebraska is able to get him on campus for an official visit but Notre Dame is thought to be the leader here.

Next week’s visit list for Ohio State will not have as many prospects as Wisconsin did, but we know there will be one highly coveted prospect on the sidelines. Four-star athlete Talanoa Hufanga‍ will be making his official visit to Nebraska for this game. It suits Hufanga’s personality better to be one of a few prospects on hand versus a huge weekend. He is a game-changing safety prospect and if you remember, Nebraska went and saw him play the Friday before the Oregon game. In back-to-back weeks, Nebraska will host the Nos. 1 and 2 Greg’s Guys.